Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackie Tao Law.
Hi Jackie Tao, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m Jackie Tao Law, an emerging artist in Dallas.
My path to art started in childhood. I grew up in an artsy beach town on the Gulf coast. I painted and drew as often as I could. I tore through fiction books on mythology and other worlds. The museum down the road had huge, awe inspiring Baroque paintings that I grew up seeing regularly. I took art in middle school and high school, where my teacher would encourage us to explore mediums and study other artists. I think my imagination was pumped to the brim with vivid, dramatic, and dreamy imagery. It fueled my inner world.
I took a break from art after graduating high school but found my way back to it in my mid twenties. It began as a way to reconnect with myself during the pandemic in 2020 and has since blossomed into an intentional practice. I’ve found a home in the booming creative scene in Dallas. I’m grateful to be a part of the Dallas Asian American Art Collective (DAAArt), which has many events for Asian creatives to connect with each other. My work has been featured in a DAAArt published zines. I’ve also been lucky to be a part of several group shows in Dallas and to have helped curate a show for DAAArt.
A couple years ago I also co-founded a book club with some friends called “Did You Read Yet” to spotlight Asian and intersectional voices in literature. The goal is to amplify underrepresented voices and bring readers together via meetups where we read silently and discuss our reading materials. It’s been an amazing experience to see so many interested readers gather! As a visual artist, I find a lot of inspiration through literature. I’ve been an avid reader all my life and have always been drawn to speculative fiction. Otherworldly genres fuel my visual practice.
Today, Did You Read Yet is thriving and I’m focused on creating a cohesive body of my painting work! Art has become a way to connect with other people and with my culture.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Self-doubt is poisonous to the work. I tend to question my legitimacy when my work doesn’t get positive response or I don’t sell as much as I’d hoped. I work a full time job, so I’m able to support myself independently of my art – but I am always wishing I could pursue art full time.
Right now, I’m working on the transition to running my art like a small business. It’s a part-time job on top of my full-time job, and sometimes it feels like it won’t pan out. It’s a big leap, as being an artist also means you a content creator, marketer, and small business owner. But as an artist, it’s always worth the effort. In this time and place, art is a bridge – a special way to connect with others and express yourself – and it is more important than ever. When people view my art and share their thoughts with me, it tightens the interconnectedness we have with each other and helps wash the self-doubt away.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Like many creatives I wear a couple different hats. I’m mainly known for my painting and print work. I paint primarily in acrylic. I have a couple large paintings (and I’d love to paint even larger, try my hand at murals) that have been in group shows around Dallas! Painting is my main form of personal expression, I am transcribing my inner world for others to see. I’ve always had a very visual imagination and I need to illustrate it – whether it be on paper or canvas. My paintings are vivid, full of illumination and dream like imagery. I often retreat into myself, this is imagery I find myself disappearing into when I introspect, it preoccupies my mind until I get it out. While my subject matter varies, there is a throughline of dream like quality that connects my work. Right now, I have a large painting – “Dragon, Emerging” – on display at Hyphen Space (an amazing co-working space near Fair Park, would highly recommend checking it out)!
Regarding my print work, I sell my prints at art markets and online. With my prints, I’m more focused on quality linework and illustration. I have prints that I’ve had riso printed by a local printer – Play Nice Press – and other services and mediums. I have a set of riso prints inspired by my favorite works of literature that I plan to have ready by spring. And I’m experimenting with block printing and plan to have a set of block prints inspired by Chinese mythology ready by the summer! I currently have a popular series of prints titled “redo/rebirth” – inspired by the process of metamorphosis.
What are your plans for the future?
In my most recent paintings, I explore my difficulty with self-expression. A milestone that’s important to me is to have a cohesive body of work, so I’m building that out right now. I’m excited to see it come together. It’ll be my biggest exercise yet of creating with deeper intention. I plan to have many new prints for sale this year as well and to expand the number of art markets I’ll vend at – so many exciting things on the horizon!
This is a year of big shifts in my creative practice. I want to cross the gap from emerging to established, from hobbyist to professional. I’m thrilled for the journey!
Pricing:
- red0/rebirth prints – $25
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jackietaolaw.bigcartel.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jac_que_lyn.jpeg/
Image Credits
For personal photo, please credit Equiano Jackson at Big Hat Media
